In good news for electric car drivers across the country, the government has this week laid its Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 in Parliament.
The draft legislation is the result of the Consumer Experience at Public Chargepoints consultation that ran from March to April in 2021 – and will be of huge benefit to electric car drivers when it comes into effect.
Indeed, the regulations that have been introduced in Parliament represent a commitment to improve the consumer experience at public charge points. Three areas in particular within the regulations will have tangible benefits for consumers using the public charging network.
1. Payment: Clear and contactless
First, the government is mandating that charge point operators clearly display to drivers the total price for charging an electric vehicle in pence per kilowatt hour.
It is also mandating contactless payment on new public charge points with a power of 8 kW or above, as well as non-contactless rapid charge points (50 kW+) in operation before the regulation comes into force.
Within one year from the regulations coming into force, charge point operators must ensure that these charge points accept contactless payment. (The government has already mandated that all new rapid charge points accept contactless payment.)
EV drivers can use the ‘Payment’ filter within the Zapmap app and desktop map to search for charge points that take contactless payment. Simply select the ‘Contactless debit or credit card’ option within the ‘Payment’ filter.
2. Payment: Roaming required
Second, the regulations will ultimately effect mandatory payment roaming in order to reduce the number of apps currently required by charge point operators to pay for charging.
Within two years of the regulations coming into force, all charge point operators will need to ensure that someone using any of its charge points is able to pay for charging using a payment service provided by a third-party roaming provider.
Thanks to Zapmap’s engaged community of EV drivers, we heard this message coming loud and clear from drivers across the country a few years ago – and launched our payment roaming solution Zap-Pay.
The simple way to pay for electric car charging across networks from within the Zapmap app, Zap-Pay avoids the hassle of using multiple apps across different networks and means that EV drivers can search, plan and pay for charging all within one app.
With on-street charging provider Connected Kerb the latest network to go live on Zap-Pay, you can use Zap-Pay on nine different networks across the country – including Osprey, char.gy, GeniePoint and MFG EV Power. In true roaming style, you can also use Apple Pay and Google Pay on Zap-Pay.
3. Charging: Reliable rapids
Third, in order to ensure the UK’s charging infrastructure is appropriate for greater mass-market rollout, the draft legislation mandates a minimum of 99% reliability across the public rapid charging network.
This will be music to the ears of many electric car drivers, with reliability of charge points consistently showing up as a top priority in Zapmap’s annual EV charging survey, which last year saw around 4,300 responses from EV drivers.
“I’m very pleased that the 2023 Public Charge Point Regulations are now up for debate in Parliament – and many electric car drivers will be too,” said Melanie Shufflebotham, Co-founder & COO at Zapmap.
“From easy payment through to chargers you know will work when you get to them, these are issues we know drivers have highlighted for many years. Whether it’s showing the live status of charge points – if they are in use, in service or otherwise – or whether it’s our cross-network payment solution Zap-Pay, Zapmap has led the way in identifying and addressing the needs of EV drivers. It’s great to see these concerns now being addressed by Parliament too, which will lead to more collaboration across the industry for the benefit of EV drivers.
“Stepping back, the shift to electric vehicles is crucial if we are to meet our net zero targets. And these regulations will support this transition by boosting confidence in the public charging network.”
You can find almost 45,000 charging points across the UK on the Zapmap app.
You can also find the regulations on the legislation.gov website here. The government has also published industry guidance to support compliance. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) will enforce these regulations.
If you have any questions, you can direct them to consumerofferconsult@ozev.gov.uk.
